Abstract

This is the Abstract I had at the end of M1, that I added to at the end, and I think I'm still having trouble with the 'no lessons' thing. I don't know exactly what I'm trying to accomplish with my thesis. Can I just say, I'm putting this out there, take from it whatever you can?

The suburbs were the North American dream. They were the perfect blend of city and country, providing easy access to both: living and raising children on safe, clean, tree-lined streets, chatting with neighbours in the front yard, and coming home in the evenings to a home cooked meal. The suburbs have changed. The streets are full of cars, travelling hours on freeways into the city, the trees are too young to offer shade, garages have taken over front yards, and neighbours nod while passing each other in their cars. Where did the dream go? Is it still there only in a different form? Are the suburbs a thing of the past or can they be revived?
Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, is a series of fifty-five stories describing the travels of Marco Polo. Each city is fictitious on its own, but together they make up all the different sides of Marco Polo’s hometown of Venice.
I propose to divide aspects of the suburbs, and describe them as stand-alone objects or places, in order to better understand them as a whole. By formatting these descriptions as narratives I hope to portray these 'almost-cities' in a way that the reader will react to.